Pizzicato Five | Profile Luminaries of the much-hyped Shibuya-kei scene, the Pizzicato Five's music combines Burt Bacharach songcraft with go-go kitsch; chanteusy murmurings backed by an updated pastiche of everything that was fabulous about the 60s. The band was formed in 1979 by Yasuharu Konishi and Keitaro Takanami, students at Aoyama University in Tokyo's posh Aoyama district. Konishi and Takanami, along with fellow student Ryo Kamamiya recruited vocalist Mamiko Sasaki in 1984, completing the group's first full lineup. The following year saw the release of their first single, "Audrey Hepburn Complex", with their first album Pizzicato Five in Action dropping in 1986. Despite serving as a revolving door for vocalists and the departure of Kamamiya, the band enjoyed widespread and rapidly growing popularity in Japan, and was at the top of their game with the release of their 1990 single "Lovers Rock", featuring new vocalist Maki Nomiya. In 1994, the band hitched their wagon to indie label Matador in the United States, which issued the compilation EP Five by Five. Co-founder Takanami left the band shortly thereafter, reducing it to the duo of Konishi and Nomiya. Pizzicato Five issued two more compilations in the United States before following up in 1997 with Happy End of the World, which saw simultaneous release in Japan and the United States. Playboy and Playgirl and Pizzicato Five were released during the subsequent two years. Since the year 2000, countless P5 remixes and collections have been released, and their kitschy deconstructionist pop remains a staple for true jetsetters everywhere. by Bill Haw
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